"Macbeth"
Wednesday Theatre episode
The Age 22 Sept 1965
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 37
Directed byAlan Burke
Based onMacbeth
by William Shakespeare
Featured musicRobert Hughes
Original air date22 September 1965 (1965-09-22)
Running time90 mins[1]
Guest appearance
Wynn Roberts

"Macbeth" is a 1965 Australian TV production of the play by William Shakespeare that aired on 22 September 1965 in Sydney and Melbourne,[2][3] and on 27 October 1965 in Brisbane.[4] The play had previously been filmed by ABC in 1960 with Keith Goodlet in the title role.[5]

Cast

  • Wynn Roberts as Macbeth
  • Terri Aldred as Lady Macbeth
  • Keith Eden as Macduff
  • Keith Lee as Banquo
  • Clark Bleazby as Ross
  • Allan Lander as Lennox
  • Mark Albiston as Malcolm
  • Michael Duffield as Seyton
  • Peter Hepworth as Fleance
  • Joan Harris as Lady Macduff
  • Patricia Kennedy, Roma Johnston and Agnes Dobson as the witches
  • Sydney Conabere, Lloyd Cunningham, Nevil Thurgood as murderers

Production

The production was directed by Alan Burke who said, "I always approach Shakespeare with reverence, but not with awe. Someone once said, 'A producer should read every new play as if it were Shakespeare, and Shakespeare as if it were a new play.' I heartily agree with this.... The main value of the play is inside the minds of its characters. TV, with its revealing close-ups, is the ideal medium with which to demonstrate this."[6]

It was set in the year the play was written, around 1600, rather than when Shakespeare originally set it, around 1100. This meant the characters wore traditional tartans.[7] "Our aim was authenticity," said Burke. "Every detail was thoroughly researched - the tartans, costumes and swords. The atmosphere of a battle in the eeriness of a misty forest could not have possibly be recreated in a studio. But we found the perfect location for it in Mount Macedon."[4]

The final battle was shot in Mount Macedon over two days involving cast and crew of 83 in all. Wardrobe managed Keith Clarke said "the kilts had to be carefully planned and supervised, otherwise with 30 men fighting enthusiastically we could have ended up with a few nasty accidents."[4]

The bulk of filming was done at the ABC studios in Ripponlea, Melbourne.[8][6][9]

Trevor Ling was the designer.[10]

Reception

The Age called it "ambitious and, generally, extremely competent. It was an encouraging experiment in what can be done to popularise Shakespeare."[11]

References

  1. ↑ "TODAY'S TV". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 267. 22 September 1965. p. 21. Retrieved 20 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 1965. p. 13.
  3. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 16 September 1965. p. 38.
  4. 1 2 3 "Boomerang battle in TV Macbeth". TV Times. 20 October 1965. p. 11.
  5. ↑ "Macbeth Re-make". The Age. 16 September 1965. p. 16.
  6. 1 2 "'Macbeth' on camera". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 33, no. 15. 8 September 1965. p. 18. Retrieved 9 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Of Sound and Fury". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 1965. p. 12.
  8. ↑ "Cast of 60 in Macbeth". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 265. 20 September 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 9 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Macbeath remake". The Age. 16 September 1865. p. 31.
  10. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 16 September 1965. p. 38.
  11. ↑ Monitor (25 September 1965). "Mavis Fails to Score". The Age. p. 21.


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